Do I Need to Do Keyword Research for PPC Campaigns?

Introduction:

One of the most common questions internet marketers hear is, “Why do I need to do keyword research?”

This is often followed by,“Do I need keyword research for PPC campaigns?”

Though the foundation of PPC and SEO is exactly the same, most people assume that they can pick any old keyword for their pay-per-click campaigns and that it will work perfectly well. The truth is, however, that keyword research is probably far more important for PPC campaigns than it is for search engine optimization—which makes it very important, considering how important it is for SEO.

Keywords Dictate Your Entire PPC Campaign

Your PPC campaign is completely controlled by what keywords you choose. They will decide how many clicks you get, what you pay for your campaign, and the quality of traffic that you receive. Consider the following scenarios:

You pick the most obvious keyword –

Picking your industry or your niche as your keyword seems like a good option, right? You’re going to get lots of targeted traffic from that keyword—considering you can actually afford to ever show up in the paid search for that keyword. In order to get the position you want, you’re going to have to pay through the nose for those clicks.

You pick a keyword at random –

Some use the strategy of picking a very random (truly random—meaning that it has nothing to do with your industry or niche) in the hopes that they can get lots of traffic by showing up at the top of search results that don’t have very much competition. Not only do most search engines punish this behavior, you’re unlikely to get clicks since neither your ad nor your website has anything to do with what the user is searching for.

You pick a high-quality, relevant, low-competition keyword –

This is the sweet spot. You are able to get to the top of the paid search box easily because there are few other website vying for the same slot. Your ad is tailored to the keyword, so when people search for that term, your advert is enticing and gets clicks.

Conclusion:

Keyword research is the only way to find the keyword in the third scenario without having to go through months or even years of trial and error with the wrong keywords.

Take a 30 keyword searches Free on JAAXY, the affiliate marketers keyword tool: